1. Field
Embodiments relate to a refrigerator with a sterilizer to sterilize and deodorize.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a refrigerator is an apparatus which stores food in a fresh state for a long time using cold air having exchanged heat with evaporators. Such a refrigerator includes storage chambers including a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber, evaporators provided at the rear portions of the storage chambers to generate cold air, and cold air supply devices, each of which includes a duct and a fan to circulate the cold air generated from the evaporators. The cold air supplied to the storage chambers through the cold air supply devices is circulated to maintain proper temperatures of the storage chambers.
The refrigerator executes a refrigerating operation to supply cold air to the storage chambers and a defrosting operation to remove frost accumulated on the evaporators during the refrigerating operation. During the defrosting operation, the frost accumulated on the evaporators is evaporated by defrosting heaters, and thus humidity within the refrigerator is raised.
Recently, refrigerators with a sterilizer and a deodorizer to sterilize and deodorize the inside of the refrigerator have been developed. Such a sterilizer generates ions to perform sterilization of the inside of the refrigerator. In the case of the sterilizer executing sterilization through ion generation, an amount of the generated ions is maintained at or above a predetermined level. Such ion generation may be varied according to humidity around the sterilizer. When the amount of the ions generated from the sterilizer is lowered due to the variation of humidity during the refrigerating operation and the defrosting operation and does not remain above the predetermined level, the sterilizing capacity of the sterilizer is lowered.